Art of controlling combustion in internal-combustion engines



A ril 5 1927.

p F. A. HOWARD ET AL ART OF CONTROLLING COMBUSTION IN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Dec. 30, 1922 Rwright. KM mine Patented Apr. 5, 192.7.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

imam: A. nowann AND runs 11. wnrertr, 0E ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, 'assmnons r0 s'rmnnnn DEVELOPMENT come-Amt, on NEW YORK, n. 2., A con- YOEL TION OI DELAWARE.

ART OF CONTROLLING COMBUSTION" IN INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application fi led December 80, 1922. Serial No. 608,913.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines and will be fullyunderstood from, the following description, ref-..

erence being had also to the drawing, in which Fig. 1 represents a central sectional view of one .form of apparatus contemplated in the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail on an enlarged scale, showing the position of parts when the1 engine is under certain load conditions; an p Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of a modification.

Refcrrin more articularly to the drawing, the re erence c aracter 1 designates the air intake leading to a carbureter C of any desired form, the usual choker valve 3 and throttle valve 3' being provided. Extending into the air passage is a tube 4 carrying a, wick 5 which projects above into a perforated wick-cage 6 and below into a liquid container 7.- Advantageously this container accompanying is attached to the tube 4 by a screw thread joint or the like, so as to be readily detachable, it being contemplated that such a container willsupply in convenient manner a chemical agent efiicient in modifying the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels to the end of checking knocking or detonation. Slidable over the wick-cage 6 is a sleeve or cover 8 whose upper end-9 is closed so asto act as a piston in the outer sleeve 10, a duct I 11 communicating with the cylinder chamher 12, from which in turn a pipe 13 connects to, the intake manifold. The outer sleeve or cover 10 is also slidable, having a piston '14 in the cylinder chamber 12. An expansion sprin 15 bears .against the ,under side of the plstonand'is adjustable by virtue of the adjusting nut 16 which crowds the snugly fitting piston 7 along the extended endot sleeve 10.

When the-engine is at rest, the'pressurein, the intake manifold, as communicated through pipe 13 to the under surface of piston 14.- and on through duct 11 to the top of piston -9 is not different from the pressure effective upon the other sidesof the respective pistons. correspondingly the piston 9 with:sleeve8 is afiected only by gravity and the sleeve is down over the wick-cage, acting as a cover against evaporative waste of. the'liquid, and the outer sleeve 10 is held up by the spring 15. When the en 'ine. is running, the pressure from the inta e manifold through pipe 13 is less than that effective on the under{ side of piston 9 and the sleeve 8 is correspondingly raised up into the outer sleeve 10, 60 thus exposing the wick so that the chemical agent supplied thereby is volatilized. from discussion of the various possible theoretical explanations of why such results occur. When the engine speed exceeds that for which the spring 15 has been set, the piston 14 is carried down, taking with it the inner sleeve 8 and coveringthe wick. This prevents needless waste of'the knock-controlling agent when the engine conditions aresuch as not to require it.

In the modification shown in Fig, 3, a single sleeve 'or cover 20 is arranged to slide over the wick cage 21. The top of the cage forms an abutment which supports an'expan'sion spring 22 hearing above against an adjusting screw 23 in the iston 24 which is' attached to the sleeve. pipe 13 connects the cylinder chamber 26 below. the piston with the intake manifold, as m the form shown in Fig. 1, and the other relationships are-the same, the wick-tube 4 being 7 set in the air intake 1 and having the de tachable liquid-container 7 below. In this form, the sleeve 20 is held. up by the spring A 22 until the engine runs at aspeed exceeding thatfor which the spring 22 is ad usted, when the lessened ressure under the piston, I as communicated 5 0111 the intake manifold, 1

, pose of illustration, rather than limitation,

- in whic and the invention is to be regarded as limited onl as defined in the following claims,

it is our intention to claim all inherent novelty as broadly as the prior art permits.

What we claim is:

.1. The combination with an air intake and manifold and carburetor of an internal combustion engine, of a wick tube and wic cage projecting into the air intake, a wick in said tube and cage, a container for liquid detachably connected to the lower end of the wick tube, a sleeve slidable over the wick cage and closed at its upper end to form a piston, an outer sleeve slidable over the inner sleeve and having a piston on its upper end, a spring supporting said latter piston, an adjusting nut, and a pipe connecting the space between the two pistons with the intake manifold.

2. The combination with an air intake and manifold and carburetor of an internal combustion engine, of a wick projecting into the air intake, means for supplying a liquid to said wick, a sleeve slidable over the wick and closed at its upper end to form a piston, an outer sleeve slidable over the inner sleeve and having a piston on its upper end, a spring supporting said latter piston, and a pipe connecting the space between the two pistons with the intake manifold.

3. The" combination with an air intake and manifold and carburetor of an internal combustion engine, of a wick exposed in the air intake, means for supplying a liquid to said wick, a sleeve slidable over the wick, a piston attached to said sleeve, a spring supporting said piston, and a pipe connecting the space under the piston with the intake manifold.

4. The combination with an air intake and manifold and carburetor of an internal combustion engine, of an evaporat-ive surface exposed in the. air intake .for feeding a knock-controlling chemical, a cover slidable over said evaporative surface, and means for actuating said cover determined (ehanges of pressure in the intake manio 5. The combination with an air intake and manifold and carburetor of an internal combusition engine, of means located in the air intake and adapted for feeding knockcontrolling vapors, and means for governing such feed determined by changes of pressure in the air intake passage.

6. The combination of a wick, means for supplying a liquid to said wick, a sleeve slidable over the wick and closed at its end to form a piston, an outer sleeve slidable over the inner sleeve and having an actuating piston, resilient means for supporting said last named piston, and means for communicating the pressure in the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine to the space between the two pistonsu 7. The combination of a wick, a sleeve slidable over the Wick, a piston attached to said sleeve, resilient means for supporting said piston, and means for communicating the pressure in the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine to the space below the piston.

8. The combination of an evaporative surface for supplyin a knock-controlling chemical, a cover slidable over said evaporative surface, and means for actuating said cover governed by changes of pressure in the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine.

9. The method of controlling knocking or detonation in internal combustion engines, which comprises vaporizing a chemical agent exposed to the air current supplied to the engine, and regulating the extent of exposure and correspondingly the amount of vapor supplied, by changes in pressure in the air intake passage.

10. The method of controlling knocking or detonation in internal combustion enical agent exposed to the air current supplied'to the engine, passing the vapor together with air into the manifold of the engine, and regulating the amount of vapor supplied, by changes in pressure in the air intake passage.

11. In apparatus for feeding a knockcontrolling. agent to the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine, a chamber formed in part by opposed pistons, means for establishing communication between the chamber and the intake manifold whereby the position of the pistons is controlled by the pressure differential between the exterior of the chamber and the intake manifold, a source of supply of the knock-controlling agent, and a closure for the same carried by one of the pistons.

12. In apparatus for supplying a material to the intake manifold of an internal co1nbustion engine, a source of supply of the material, a closure for said source, a piston carrying,said closure, means connecting the space above said piston with the intake manifold. whereby upon a predetermined fall of pressure in the intake manifold the piston will be elevated, and a second piston adapted upon a further fall of pressure to .gines, which comprises vaporizing a chemreturn said first piston to its former position.

13. The combination with the air intake and manifold and carburetor of an internal 5 combustion engine, of vapor-su plying means in the air intake, a closure or said vapor-supplying means, pressure operable meohanism adapted to position said closure and a pipe connecting the intake manifold at a point beyond the throttle valve with 10 the said mechanism.

FRANK A. HOWARD. JAMES R. VVRIGH'D. 

